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The Chemistry of a Car Crash
by Paul Menn | Apr 8, 2016 | Grand Rapids
In the movies, there is usually a lone car horn blaring, the hiss of steam from a broken radiator, dramatic music swelling. None of that today. Just NPR on my car radio, and when I got out, an almost reverential silence.
The Number One Conversation I Don’t Know How to Have At a Dinner Party
by Caroline (Higgins) Nyczak | Apr 7, 2016 | New York
I also think you should know that I once used you, not by name (of course), as an illustration to my students. “Did you know,” I began, “that there are some people who know where I work and feel bad for me?”
I want a God like NASA
by Josh deLacy | Apr 6, 2016 | Placeless
I don’t feel comfortable when people talk about God’s perfect plan, probably because I don’t believe in it.
Excuses, Excuses
by Alissa Anderson | Apr 5, 2016 | Placeless
I got the syllabus, and I saw something new: forty percent of my final grade in the class is “social media impact.”
A Night on the Lash
by Ben Rietema | Apr 4, 2016 | Australia
It was like asking the two of them to play a game of ping pong, but no one had brought any paddles and the only ball available was a brick.
Consider Your Houseplants
by Sabrina Lee | Apr 3, 2016 | Illinois
At first, the concept of intelligent plants seemed a little far-fetched, or, rather, whimsical, a kind of wishful thinking that envisioned a magical world, rather Tolkein-esque.
Semi-Charmed Life
by Jacob Schepers | Apr 2, 2016 | Placeless
We found a bike he fell in love with and, you guessed it, it’s pink and princess-emblazoned. He does not yet realize that this is not what is “expected” of him, and more power to him for it.
Are You Living Abroad as Authentically as I Am?
by Katerina Parsons | Apr 1, 2016 | Placeless
I remember being so overwhelmed and lost three months in. I can promise you—it gets better! How long have I been here? Almost a year, actually. Well, okay, six months. But coming up on a year.
The Edges of Time
by Abby Zwart | Mar 31, 2016 | Placeless
They say the drive to grandma’s house is always longer than the way home.
The More You Know (The More You Don’t Know)
by Michelle Ratering | Mar 29, 2016 | Placeless
We live in a world where we think everything worth learning should be Google-able, but the truth is that we use easy answers as a crutch to support us as we fumble along on legs that aren’t strengthened by the workout routine of inquiry.
Why You Shouldn’t Triage Your Date
by Kayla Innis | Mar 28, 2016 | Placeless
Unfortunately, my triage mindset has leaked out into my personal life, and I now do this with men. Yup, it’s true: I triage my dates.
New Normal
by Brad Zwiers | Mar 27, 2016 | Placeless
The server, now finishing up her closing work, stopped all of a sudden and said to me, “Oh my gosh, you don’t have a phone or anything to look at?” I held up my LG. She literally put her hand to her mouth.
The Golden Fool
by Nick Meekhof | Mar 26, 2016 | Michigan
But make no mistake, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ is a flawed statement. It would only work in a dreamlike utopia, where every person exhibits an identical preference and attitude—a scenario I truly believe would bore me to death.
Good Friday
by Ryan Struyk | Mar 25, 2016 | Placeless
So every week, but especially during this weekend, we hold both at the same time. Sin and grace. The already and the not yet. Death and resurrection.
“That Time Andrew Garfield Convinced Me to Go to Law School,” or “How to Write a Research Paper”
by Lauren (Boersma) Harris | Mar 24, 2016 | Placeless
“You know, I may be a complete stranger, but it seems as though you’re a very intelligent person with a lot to give the world, and I can see you practicing law someday. Just a thought.”
Plead the Fifth
by Michael Kelly | Mar 23, 2016 | Placeless
During Plead the Fifth, Andy asks his celebrity guests three questions, one at a time, and he tells them that they may only choose not to answer (“plead the fifth”) to one.
Portraits from the Road I
by Matt Medendorp | Mar 22, 2016 | Alabama
It should be noted that the entirety of Shaw’s has gone sitcom quiet again. You get the feeling they’re waiting for their elder statesman to pass a type of judgment.
RuPaul’s Drag Race: A Ru-View
by Gabe Gunnink | Mar 20, 2016 | Placeless
With so many cynosural queens clawing to be the center of attention, watching Drag Race can feel like attempting to view fireworks through a kaleidoscope.
Learning about Mental Illness While Mentally Ill
by Mary Margaret Healy | Mar 19, 2016 | Placeless
There were so many unknowns I couldn’t control or explain, so I just avoided them. All of them. Everything. I avoided everything.
Secret Hitler Is the Greatest Party Game Since Musical Chairs
by Ben DeVries | Mar 18, 2016 | Placeless
In contrast with games like Mafia, which lives and dies upon its players’ intuition, Secret Hitler introduces a mechanic that brings reason (or maybe reason’s bastard, hunch-prone son) to the table.
Ricky
by Geneva Langeland | Mar 17, 2016 | Ann Arbor
Since moving to Ann Arbor, I’ve encountered more panhandlers in two years than I’d seen in the preceding twenty-three. And every time, no matter how bedraggled or desperate they appear, I always truck right past.
Seeking Refuge
by Andrew Knot | Mar 16, 2016 | Cologne, Germany
How much further from home is the 40-year old tailor from Afghanistan who lacks the native words to ask for his family’s daily bread?
Small Fish
by Cassie Westrate | Mar 15, 2016 | Placeless
I’m twenty-four and should move somewhere far away and then move again once I’ve grown familiar enough to know exactly where to find packets of yeast in the store.
Youth in a Sound
by Will Montei | Mar 14, 2016 | Placeless
One of the pleasures of listening to a new band is creating an image of who the singer is. What do they look like? What kind of life do they live when they’re not playing?
What Not to Wear
by Catherine Kramer | Mar 13, 2016 | China, Placeless
But where do our clothes actually come from? Before they get to the mall or the boutique or the bargain bin, before we buy them for their comfort, style, or perceived necessity in our wardrobe. Sure, the tag lists a country, but what does that really mean? Who are the people who make them? What are their working conditions like? Are they paid a living wage?
The Other Side
by Abby Zwart | Mar 12, 2016 | Placeless
It’s Saturday morning and I’m back at my old high school, preparing for a day full of those meta sort of moments when you get to sit on the other side of the table. Those times when you get a totally new perspective on something you’ve done a hundred times.
Adulting
by Elaine Schnabel | Mar 11, 2016 | Placeless
There is power in naming our fears, so here it is: I fear that sort of adulthood. The knowing sort. I fear it because it is a foolish and finite sort of adulthood.
What I Signed Up For
by Katie Van Zanen | Mar 10, 2016 | Massachusetts
February 21, 2016, 4:15 p.m. Crate & Barrel, 777 Boylston St, Boston, Massachusetts. We are standing in front of a flatware display with an iPod scanner, bickering about the price of forks.
I Live With An Older Couple
by Bart Tocci | Mar 9, 2016 | Massachusetts
There’s beer in the fridge and it doesn’t say, “Kirkland Signature.” (No hate.) There’s bourbon in the liquor cabinet. There’s a liquor cabinet. There’s a cabinet. I’ve never lived in a cleaner place. I’ve never used more sturdy cutlery.
Portrait of an Alcoholic
by Paul Menn | Mar 8, 2016 | Placeless
But I brushed it off—I was having fun, and it wasn’t like I was going to live this way forever. I could stop whenever I wanted. Until I couldn’t.
